Beginning of the Bond
by Optimistique
Summary: Kanan regretted his decision to send Ezra undercover at the Imperial Academy. Now all that was left to do was wait. And worry. (The season 1 episode "Breaking Ranks" from Kanan's POV with a little extra dialogue and action filled in the gaps. Because apparently I like writing about angsty Kanan. Will be a two-shot).
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own Star Wars Rebels.

**Beginning of the Bond**

Kanan paced a tight circle on the metal floor of his room aboard the _Ghost._ He had never been the most patient person. Patience was a trait Master Billaba had tried to cultivate in him, but had never had the chance to see through to fruition. As a result, Kanan became a man of action. He was all right with waiting for something as long as there were little things to do along the way, but he hated doing nothing. And nothing was all he had done for the last three weeks.

Kanan lowered himself onto his bunk. He tried to quiet his mind, focusing only on his breathing. He imagined the Force as a living thing around him, flowing through his body, pumping through his blood, and vibrating in the hum of the ship. Stretching out mentally, he searched again for Ezra's Force signature. It was something he was just barely beginning to recognize, and it was a slippery thing to hold onto. But even here, in orbit above Lothal, Kanan should be able to sense that slight spark on the planet that was Ezra.

Ezra and Kanan had begun to develop what Kanan suspected was a Force bond between master and padawan about a month ago. He felt it first as a sort of poke in the back of his mind when Ezra stubbornly declared, "Well I don't want the best teacher. I want _you!_"

Before that time, Kanan had been having serious doubts about his decision to train him. How could an apprentice who had never finished his own training then go on to train someone else? Ezra was clearly gifted in the Force, and deserved someone better than the wandering padawan Caleb Dume for a teacher. He expected Ezra would be as crestfallen as he was upon discovering that Master Luminara Unduli was in fact not still alive. But Kanan was surprised. The teen was mostly upset that day because he was afraid of being unwanted. Kanan had unintentionally given the impression that he did not think Ezra _worth_ training himself. Once that misunderstanding had been cleared up, something just sort of snapped into place. Ezra became more focused and dedicated to his lessons. Kanan started to notice a small hum on the edge of his consciousness. It was strongest when Ezra was concentrating on using the Force. It was a mere shadow of the bond Kanan had once shared with his own master, but it grew stronger every day.

And then Kanan had to go and get this brilliant idea. The crew received intelligence that the Empire had gotten their hands on a huge shipment of kyber crystals. How that was possible, he didn't know. Mining them large scale from Ilum would have been inconceivable due to the severe weather conditions. But regardless, the Empire could not be planning to do anything productive with a batch that large of Force-infused lightsaber crystals. The shipment had to be intercepted before it reached its destination. The question was, what _was_ the destination? And where was it now?

The rebels discussed various strategies about how to go about lifting that information from the Imperials, all of which came up as dead ends. Finally it struck Kanan that the youngest member of their crew was exactly the right age and physical type to pass as a storm trooper cadet. Ezra responded enthusiastically to the plan and agreed to go undercover at the academy on Lothal and get the required intel. He left them with his very specific instructions committed to memory and an eager spring in his step.

That was three weeks ago. Kanan had never dreamed it would take this long for his padawan to get inside Imperial HQ. True, Chopper had managed to roll inside as well and receive discreet messages from Ezra that he then passed on to the ground team, which in this case consisted on Sabine and Zeb. But day after day they had radioed the _Ghost_ with the same result. Ezra was still inside with no word on the kyber shipment.

Kanan opened his eyes. He could sense Ezra, if very faintly. Surely he would know it if something had gone terribly wrong. Surely.

He glanced at his chrono-clock. It would be nightfall soon on the hemisphere where his team was located. Almost time for Sabine's report. Kanan made his way to the cockpit to join Hera.

"Hey," she greeted him as he plopped into the co-pilot's seat beside her. "Worn a hole through your floor yet?"

Kanan glanced sideways at her. "I don't know what you mean."

"Oh please. You've been pacing for the last ten days. When do you even sleep?"

"This is taking too long," he growled in response, in no mood for her levity. "For all we know the crystals are already at their destination and the Empire's using them to do something unspeakably horrible."

"Right," she said rolling her eyes. "Because the shipment'swhat you're really worried about."

Just then the comm beeped and Sabine's voice sounded through the ship's speaker.

"Specter Five to Ghost. Looks like the kid passed the first test. He's inside Imperial HQ."

"Roger Specter Five," Hera answered. "_Ghost_ standing by."

Kanan groaned internally as the comm clicked off. He supposed it was good news that Ezra was making progress, but he could not help but feel that the longer this plan dragged on, the more likely it was to go south. "We've been standing by for weeks," he complained. "I'm sick of this."

"You're worried about Ezra," Hera said more than asked.

"I'm not worried about the kid," he replied defensively, frustrated by her knowing tone. "I'm worried about the op." After a moment he gave a resigned sigh. "What were we thinking, putting him undercover?"

It was meant to be a rhetorical question, but Hera responded anyway with an incredulous, "What were _we_ thinking? This was your idea."

"He's just not ready!" Kanan went on, ignoring her. "And if he gets caught..." He didn't want to finish the thought out loud. He had already been haunted by worse-case-scenarios every day for the last three weeks. Some master he was. Sending his apprentice into danger while he sat idly by on the ship. Logically, he knew that he and Hera were crucial to the next phase of the plan, but logic was not offering him any comfort right now. What if Ezra _was_ caught? Sabine and Zeb might not be able to get to him in time.

"He hasn't gotten caught so far," Hera offered comfortingly.

Kanan made a tense fist against the armrest of his chair. "The minute he gets that decoder, Zeb yanks him out of there."

"Uh, that's the plan."

"I should have done this myself," he grumbled.

"Oh yeah," Hera said sarcastically, "you'd make quite a cadet."

Kanan looked away. She had a point there. "There must have been another way," he said after a moment.

"You know there wasn't. We went over a hundred different options before deciding to do this. Besides, it's almost over. If all goes as planned, Ezra will be back tonight."

Kanan gazed out the viewport at the planet below. Patience…he just had to have patience. An hour ticked slowly by. Kanan tapped his fingers against his seat as he stared at the comm speaker, willing Sabine's voice to come back and say that the mission was a success and that all four of them were now awaiting pick up.

At long last, the comm did blare to life, but instead of the words he longed to hear, Sabine said in a worried tone, "Specter Five to Ghost: Something went wrong. The kid didn't get the device and he didn't come out."

A sense of dread sunk into Kanan's stomach as Hera responded, "Copy that Specter Five. Give him one more day."

The Jedi let out another sigh. "This decoder better be worth the risk."

"What's the alternative?" Hera asked firmly. "Do you want to stop the kyber shipment or not? You know what the Empire could do with that crystal."

"Nothing good," Kanan conceded.

"So we give Ezra one more day."

He nodded slowly. The Force was strong with his padawan; that much was clear. Perhaps all he could do now was have faith that it would be with him now.

Standing, he turned to leave the room. "I'm going to meditate," he said. "If you hear anything from them—"

"You'll be the first to know, Love," Hera assured him with a smile.

To be honest, meditation was not one of Kanan's strongest skills. It wasn't something he regularly practiced until recent months. But it was the surest way to align himself to the beat of the Living Force, and if he could do that, maybe he could get a better grasp on his bond with Ezra. At least if he could confirm that his apprentice was all right, just delayed, he might be able to get some sleep tonight.

Sitting down on the floor of his room, he closed his eyes. He could feel the Force pulsing through him. He concentrated on the light it created in his mind, banishing all other thoughts. The world became like a still ocean around him. There were no ripples of movement, no disturbances. Kanan extended his range, reaching out to Lothal. As before, he caught a brief flash of a familiar presence. It slipped in and out of his grasp as nimbly as a tadpole in cupped fingers. He frowned slightly. If Ezra could quiet his mind, as he had been trying to teach him, he would not be so hard to hold onto. Kanan kept trying, but each time he found Ezra he immediately lost him again. At the very least, he could be certain he was alive and did not seem to be in any kind of pain. The only sensation he could glean was one of careful waiting. Some unforeseen obstacle must have presented itself, keeping Ezra from making the rendezvous.

Kanan felt significantly lighter after coming to this conclusion. His shoulders relaxed and breathing felt easier. With luck, the obstacle in question was not something overly dangerous, just inconvenient.

The next day passed incredibly slowly. Kanan and Hera were both in the cockpit ready and waiting two hours before Sabine's report was due in. When the comm finally sounded, a full fifteen minutes late, Kanan found himself unintentionally holding his breath.

"Specter Five to Ghost," Sabine said urgently. "Sending coordinates for Imperial jump root. If you leave now, you should still be able to intercept."

Kanan and Hera glanced at each other. That was a slight deviation from the original plan, but it was still excellent news. The ground op was over, and they were not too late to catch the shipment. Kanan exhaled. At last, he could stop worrying about Ezra and the others and concentrate on his own part.

"Coordinates received," Hera replied, pulling the numbers up on her screen and immediately plugging them into the hyperdrive computer. "We're heading out."

"Good work Specter Five," Kanan added. "And you too Specter Six."

Sabine's voice came back as she hesitantly said, "Uh, Specter Six isn't with us…"

"WHAT?" Kanan shouted, his mouth suddenly going dry. "Where is he?!"

The stars outside the viewport burst into bright lines as the _Ghost_ abruptly jumped into hyperspace.

"Specter Five, repeat: where is Specter Six?!" Kanan yelled anyway.

"Kanan, we're out of range," Hera pointed out gently. "All we can do now is complete the mission and get back as soon as possible."

Kanan stared unblinkingly out at the blue swirl of hyperspace. _Why_ did Sabine and Zeb have the decoder but not Ezra? He must have been caught. That had to be it. He must have given the information to Chopper but been unable to get out himself. Would Sabine and Zeb try to stage a rescue mission while Kanan was halfway across the galaxy? Surely they wouldn't be so foolish as to take on the entire Imperial Academy alone. If they did, Kanan was certain that they would _all_ end up as Imperial prisoners. What if they called in that "Inquisitor" once they realized who Ezra really was?

His heart pounded angrily against his ribcage. This was all his fault. He should have known better. He did not realize that he was squeezing the armrests of his chair until a hand lightly touched his white knuckles, causing him to jump.

"Kanan…they'll be okay," Hera said. Her green eyes locked onto his. "Even if they did catch Ezra, they won't kill him right away. He's too valuable. That's why it's important for you to focus on our mission right now. The more efficiently we complete this mission, the faster we can go back and save him."

Kanan willed the tension to leave his body. She was right. Her ability to keep a level head in the middle of intense situations was one of the many attributes he admired about her. If she had been born Force-sensitive, she would have made one powerful Jedi.

He took a deep breath in through his nose and slowly let it back out. "Okay," he said at last. "Let's get it done."


	2. Chapter 2

Completing the mission with the kyber crystal gave Kanan something to focus on. And focus he did. Maneuvering a small ship while tie fighters try to blast you into oblivion and then avoiding a sonic wave of pure Force energy have that effect. Dangerous as it was, he relished the action after weeks of sitting around idly.

Once it was done, and the _Ghost_ was hurdling back through hyperspace, his adrenaline began to wear off. In its place a ball of worry swirled in the pit of his stomach. He kept replaying Sabine's frustratingly vague message in his mind. Her tone had been regretful, like she knew she was reporting bad news. Kanan was almost positive she had been about to report that Ezra had been captured. Fighting the urge to wring his hands, he stalked into the cockpit.

"We need to plan for an assault on the Imperial Academy," he told Hera, planting himself in the co-pilot's seat.

Hera raised her eyebrows at him. "Do we now."

"You know he must have been caught," Kanan snapped. "We should have a strategy ready before we reach Lothal."

"That's a bit difficult to do when we don't know what the rest of our team has already done, Love."

He felt the knot in his stomach grow tighter. "You think they might have tried to break in themselves?"

"Probably not," Hera replied. "Sabine and Zeb are smart. I don't think they would take on the entire military base on their own. But they may not have needed to take such drastic measures in the first place."

"Why else would they have the shipment's coordinates but not have Ezra?" Kanan demanded. He let out a terse sigh. "I should have prepared him better. He must have been caught using the Force. I should have been more specific on how to hide it." If there was anyone who had made a living out of pretending not to be a Force user in a hostile Empire, it was Kanan. Be good at what you do, but not _too_ good. Be smart, but not _too_ smart. Don't excel enough to be noticed. Why hadn't it occurred to him to teach Ezra those things before he went undercover?

Hera paused. "I'm still not convinced that he was found out. Did it ever occur to you that maybe Ezra _wanted_ to stay at the academy?"

Kanan frowned over at her. "Ezra hates the Empire as much as you and I do."

"Yes he does," she agreed. "But he's also a bit reckless. He may be convinced that he can do more damage to the Empire from the inside."

Kanan hadn't considered that. Ezra _did_ have a bad habit of making decisions before he really thought them through. But unless something had drastically changed in the last three weeks, nothing could convince him to give up his Jedi training. Ever since watching Kanan fight during their ill-fated attempt to rescue Master Luminara, he had been enthusiastically devoted to his lessons.

On the other hand... Ezra frequently argued with Zeb and Chopper, constantly complained about having to share a room, made a face whenever he was ordered to do something, had been repeatedly rebuffed by Sabine, and rarely confided in any of them. Could he have found people at the academy, perhaps other cadets, that made him feel more welcome than the crew of the _Ghost _had? Would he have more incentive to leave than to stay?

Kanan gritted his teeth. However unlikely that was, the seed of doubt had been planted in his mind. Perhaps he was doing more poorly at being a master than he thought. No, not even at being a master. At being a leader in general. If Ezra truly wanted to leave the crew... He shook his head. There was no point thinking about it until they knew for sure what the situation was. "I guess we'll find out soon enough," he said. "How long until we arrive at Lothal?"

Hera glanced at the navigation display. "Four standard hours until hyperspace exit."

"Enough time to plan an assault then."

"Right. Let me know how that goes."

Ignoring her sarcasm, Kanan made his way to the holo-table in the living area of the ship. He sifted through their files until he found the schematics of the Lothal Imperial Academy. They weren't the most up to date; it looked like the building had still been partially under construction when someone had made these plans. Still, it was better than nothing. He studied the image carefully, watching it slowly spin in a circle.

It was an impressive structure. There were multiple places around the grounds that most likely housed long-range gun turrets. The _Ghost_ would be spotted and shot down from miles away if they attempted to fly in too close. A frontal assault on foot was no good. There was an enormous hangar where the Empire undoubtedly kept at least a dozen walkers. Not to mention the number of storm troopers that would be patrolling the perimeter before they could even get close. Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper had been fortunate enough to sneak onto the grounds amidst a large load of weapon cases. But the rebels had no further intel about when a new shipment was due. He searched for smaller side openings onto the property. There were quite a few of what looked like office windows. If Kanan could get past enough guards without raising the alarm, he could probably get inside that way. However, he had no idea which part of the building Ezra was actually being held in, and so could not plan where exactly to make his entrance. This was different than the prison raid the rebels had attempted. That was on a remote planet, where the entirety of the Empires forces had been contained inside a single facility. But this was the heart of the Empire's presence on a highly populated system. Reinforcements would not be far away. Even for a Jedi, this seemed nearly impossible without more information.

Kanan ran a hand over his face. He was going to have to be patient and wait for Sabine and Zeb's report. They may have a better idea of where Ezra was being kept. Hopefully, their observation of the academy had also granted them a glimpse of weaknesses in the Empire's defenses there. Hera was right. Again. Dang it. Shutting off the holo projector, Kanan retreated to his room. He knew sleep would be impossible, but he could take another crack at meditating.

It was the longest four hours ever. His attempts to commune with the Force were frequently interrupted by an obsessive need to look at the clock. He wished he had the training and discipline to locate a person's presence from farther away. A more powerful Jedi could have done it. He knew Master Yoda had that ability. But a half-trained padawan who had spent the latter half of his life suppressing his connection to the Force? Not likely.

He shoved the frustration out of his mind. _There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no chaos, there is harmony…_

Finally, the _Ghost_ lurched slightly, signifying the exit from hyperspace. Kanan stood and strode swiftly to the cockpit. Hera already had a comm channel open.

"_Ghost_ to Specter Five. Come in."

Silence.

"Specter Five, this is Specter Two. Please come in. ...Specter Four? Specter Three?"

When no one responded, Hera pursed her lips. Standing behind her chair, Kanan closed his eyes and concentrated. He reached out in the Force, desperately looking for that familiar spark.

And there it was. He could feel Ezra, most definitely alive. He breathed a little easier. _Well that's one... _

Suddenly the comm flared to life with a series of quick mechanical babble.

"Chopper!" Hera promptly answered. "What's going on down there? What do you mean 'they're busy?'"

The droid chattered again. Kanan could usually catch the general drift of what he was trying to say, but one of these days he really needed to learn to understand the astromech as well as Hera did.

"Slow down. You stole a what?" Hera said.

Chopper's voice answered, but this time it was accompanied by a very distinctive backdrop of blaster shots.

"Specter Three, transmit your location!" Kanan shouted. He may not have been able to have a clear conversation with Chopper, but he was glad in that moment that the droid could transmit his coordinates directly to the ship.

"We're a little preoccupied here Specter One," Sabine's voice cut in.

Kanan leaned over Hera's shoulder, unintentionally getting closer to the comm transmitter. "Specter Five! What's your status? Do you have Specter Six?"

"Hey Master."

Kanan nearly choked. After all the waiting and worrying, all the emotional turmoil, he was simultaneously assaulted with anger at Ezra's flippant tone and utter relief at hearing his voice again. Only belatedly did it register that he had called him "master," something he almost never did.

"My friend Jai here doesn't believe that I'm training to be a Jedi. Could you _please_ tell him that it's true?" Ezra said as more blaster shots sounded in the background.

Hera and Kanan shared an incredulous look. He wasn't sure which question was going to make it out of his mouth first: where are you, who's shooting at you, or why the hell are you telling people that you're doing Jedi training?

"Excuse me!" Zeb growled angrily. "Can this discussion wait until later? Some of us are trying not to get killed over here!"

Hera plugged Chopper's coordinates into the computer and brought the Ghost into a sharp dive toward the atmosphere. "Status report," she quipped.

"We made it away from the academy in a land speeder," Sabine said. "But we have TIEs and speeder bikes coming in hot."

Kanan strained his ears and sure enough heard the iconic roar of a TIE fighter engine squealing through the speaker.

"We're on our way," Hera answered.

The _Ghost_ soared through layers of clouds. Kanan could feel Ezra's presence more strongly now. The brown grasslands of Lothal came into view in a wide spread beneath them. He could feel, more than see, where they were headed.

After several minutes of zipping high and fast above the landscape, Hera pulled into a steep descent. Small shapes became visible moving along the ground. The three most noticeable were roughly circular and were spitting green sparks far too rapidly out in front of them.

A collective exclamation sounded through the comm. Hera turned to say something to Kanan, but he was already heading for the nose turret. Sliding down the ladder, he threw himself into the gunner seat and powered up their weapons.

The _Ghost _came closer by the second. Kanan took a steadying breath, willing the Force to fill him. He let it guide his hands to exactly the right position and then fired the turret. One of the TIE fighters erupted into a ball of flame. One down.

The other two fighters swerved in surprise but then recovered quickly and changed course. They came zooming up to meet the _Ghost_.

"That's right boys," Kanan mumbled with a cocky grin. "Backup has arrived."

Hera rolled the ship into a turn, successfully leading their pursuers away from their previous target. The hull shuddered as laser fire grated against the shields. They let them give chase for at least a minute until abruptly the _Ghost_ spun a clean 180 so that the turret was once again pointed in the right direction. Kanan was ready. He disposed of one before it had a chance to recover its bearings. The remaining TIE banked hard to the left. The pilot must have thought he could out maneuver the heavier freighter-class ship. Unfortunately for him, he was not familiar with Hera's finely tuned skills. The _Ghost _pivoted impossibly fast, putting the fighter directly in Kanan's path. So much for number three.

"Nice timing, _Ghost_," Sabine said through the comm. "Don't know how much longer we could've held out."

"Everyone okay down there?" Kanan heard Hera ask.

"These troopers on the bikes aren't doin' us any favors," Zeb replied. "And this hunk of junk we're in has no guns."

"Headed back now," Hera said, turning the ship.

Kanan vacated the turret and climbed back to the cockpit. The ship's cannons were designed for space combat, but could be dangerously inaccurate when trying to shoot at something as small as a speeder bike. "Get as low as you can and see if you can match their speed," he called to Hera. "I'm going to the ramp."

The twi'lek didn't look back at him as she flipped a few overhead switches. "Already on it."

Kanan made a dash for the cargo hold. He waited by the main exit ramp as the air pressure changed rapidly, signifying their decreasing altitude. After a few minutes, the airlock hissed open and the ramp slid down. A powerful gust of wind assailed him, but he managed to keep his footing.

Rushing by on the ground immediately below him was a flat land speeder built for two in which four people and a droid were currently squeezed. Zeb was at the wheel, frantically trying to dodge the bolts being fired from the five pursuing troopers on individual speeder bikes. Sabine was leaning out the back of their vehicle, sending a rain of blaster fire behind them from each hand. Judging from the scorch marks on the back half of their small vehicle, his crew had already taken a few hits.

Kanan took in the situation in an instant. He briefly glanced at Ezra-and realized that he did not know the other human boy seated beside him. That boy, dressed in an Imperial cadet uniform, was staring up at the _Ghost _with wide eyes and mouth agape. Ezra, on the other hand, met Kanan's eyes and smiled expectantly.

The Jedi turned his attention back to the speeder bikes. The bikes themselves were not equipped with weapons, but each trooper gripped the steering with one hand and a blaster rifle with the other. Perhaps the only reason they had not yet managed to pick off the riders in the roofless land speeder was due to the difficulty of multi-tasking while trying to hit a moving target. Kanan would not trust their luck to hold out indefinitely.

From his place on the ramp, he reached out to the Force flowing around the two nearest bikes. He waved his hand in a very precise manner, causing a disruption in the energy beneath them. The troopers cried out in surprise as their vehicles suddenly gave a violent lurch and went nose up.

Kanan saw Ezra nudge his bewildered friend next to him with a smug smile as if to say, "Told you so." Well, so long as the kid had already spilled their secret… Kanan quickly snapped his lightsaber together and ignited it as the remaining troopers sent blaster fire his way. He deflected the shots with ease.

The _Ghost_ swayed as Hera attempted to keep up the slower pace needed to match the speeders without making an unintentional and hazardous landing. Kanan had to pause and brace himself against the wall with one hand. One of the troopers raised his weapon to take advantage of the opening but was promptly stymied by Sabine, who managed to land a shot directly on his shoulder. The Imperial jerked awkwardly and dropped his gun. He quickly faded into the distance as he let up on the pedals of his bike.

One of the two remaining troopers went for a different approach. With one hand he dug around in his belt pouches and then attached something to his gun. When he fired, an object much heavier than a blaster bolt went flying and attached itself securely to the rear of the land speeder. He made quick motion to his partner. The two bikes abruptly swung around and sped back the way they had come.

Kanan heard Sabine's muffled voice sound through the speaker on the ship. "They stuck us with a detonator!"

"Get it off!" Zeb cried as their ride swerved precariously.

Kanan saw Sabine lean alarmingly far off the back of the speeder. "I can't reach it!"

"Karabast! We'll have to make a jump for it!"

Kanan whipped out his personal comlink. "Belay that! You're moving too fast! Sit tight, I'll try to detach it from here." Replacing both lightsaber hilt and comlink back on his belt, he reached out with the Force, even as his heart pounded.

He concentrated on finding the foreign object-but paused when he felt a swell of power in the Force. Ezra had stood up in the speeder. His arms swung out before him as if he was pushing someone, and suddenly a metallic item went flying off behind them. A few seconds later, a wave of fiery orange exploded on the ground in a swiftly receding display.

_Well. What do you know. _Perhaps the kid had been practicing during his time away.

"Nice one kid," Sabine said through the comm. "_Ghost,_ we're all clear here."

"Copy, Specter Five," Hera's relieved voice answered. "Proceed to the rendezvous point. We'll pick you up there."

Kanan stayed just long enough to watch Sabine settle into a safer position on the speeder and Zeb yank Ezra back down into his seat. Turning, he then hit the button to raise the ramp.

"Never a dull moment with those kids around," Hera commented when he re-entered the cockpit.

Kanan took his seat beside her. "No kidding. Now for some answers." He flipped the ship's comm back on. "All right Specter Six, time for an explanation. You must have done more than just steal a speeder to have three TIEs and five troopers follow you all the way out here."

"Yeah...about that…" Ezra replied. "We might have also severely damaged a few walkers…"

"And shot a few bucket heads," Zeb added.

"And escaped with two Imperial cadets," Sabine chimed in.

"Right…" Kanan said, resisting the urge to rub his palm over his face. "Disregarding the fact that the mission was to remain undercover and make a quiet exit, explain to me why we've acquired another passenger."

"Because he was going to get picked up by the Inquisitor!" Ezra answered defensively. "We couldn't just leave him there. He needs a way to get home to his mom."

Kanan frowned. "Why was the Inquisitor interested in him?"

"I don't know. I just overheard the Inquisitor telling one of the commanders over holo that he was going to take Jai and me into custody."

Hera raised her eyebrows at Kanan as she said, "That's why you stayed late. It was a rescue mission."

"Yeah," Ezra replied, sounding sheepish. "Like I told the others...I've spent way too much time around you heroes. You're starting to rub off on me."

Kanan was torn between being proud and being angry at his young ward's rash (if heroic) actions. Before he could decide, Hera said with a smile, "I guess so. We'll see you at the rendezvous. _Ghost_ out." With that she flipped off the comm.

"He's an idiot," Kanan grumbled, crossing his arms.

"A lot like someone else I know," Hera said teasingly.

"He was lucky this time. If the Inquisitor had gotten there before he could escape..."

"But he didn't. Listen, how about you go easy on Ezra this time?"

Kanan raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm serious. My guess is he's been through enough. Being undercover for that long must have been hard for him. I think what he needs most right now if your approval. You know how much he looks up to you. How about we skip the lectures this time."

He stayed quiet for several minutes, watching the landscape pass by. Finally he sighed. "Fine. No lectures. But we are going to have a serious _discussion_ about who he tells about his Jedi training."

Hera smiled again. "Fair enough."

She landed the _Ghost_ on a flat patch of ground near a few distinctive rock spires that had been previously designated as their crew's meeting point. After a short while, when the sun was just starting to set, the speeder came into view in the distance. Hera walked out to meet them but Kanan stayed at the top of the ramp.

As soon as the speeder came to a stop by the ship, Sabine jumped out. "Next time we steal something roomier, okay Zeb?"

"Like what, a walker?" the Lasat asked, glaring pointedly at Ezra.

The kid pouted a bit as he and the other boy climbed out. Kanan narrowed his eyes at Jai, concentrating. There was only one reason he could think of why the Inquisitor would take special interest in a random cadet. But as he reached out through the Force, all he could feel was…nothing. Nothing but a strong feeling of unease. He doubted this kid was Force-sensitive. More likely, his proximity to Ezra had caused his superiors to notice and report them both.

Sabine came walking up the ramp with Chopper in tow. "C'mon Chop. Let's get that awful paint job off you."

Zeb lumbered after her. Kanan gave them both a smile and a nod and then returned his attention to the others.

Hera laid a hand on Jai's shoulder. "Jai, we'll take you to your mother," she said gently. "But you'll both have to go into hiding."

The boy looked at the ground. He did not seem comforted. "Yeah, from the Empire. No problem."

"We'll help with that too," Hera assured him.

As she led him onto the ship, Kanan looked to Ezra. Surprisingly, he did not immediately follow them. He seemed to be avoiding his master's gaze uncertainty, perhaps afraid that he was in trouble. Kanan had not exactly left him with any assurance otherwise. He stepped down to join him.

"So how was it, kid?" he asked casually.

Ezra looked up at him and shrugged, clearly a bit surprised by his tone. "Forgot what it was like to be on my own."

Kanan felt a tiny tug in his chest. "You miss it?" he asked.

He might have accidentally let some of his emotion slip through their bond, because Ezra smiled at him and said, "Eh, no grumpy robots, no smelly Lasats… It's good to be back."

Kanan could not help but chuckle as the last bits of his worries finally evaporated. Ezra wanted to be here. He was making significant progress as a padawan. And most importantly, he was safe. Kanan hoped that light of innocence and enthusiasm would never leave the kid. In that moment he felt like he would do anything to protect it. "At ease, cadet," he said jokingly as he turned and headed back into the ship.

"Sir, yes, sir," Ezra replied in kind. His footsteps echoed as he dashed up the ramp and passed Kanan, heading straight for his shared room. "No one better have touched my stuff while I was gone!" he called.

"Why would anyone _want_ to touch your stuff?" Zeb's voice responded from further in the ship. Chopper added some kind of snide remark.

Kanan shook his head. So much for the quiet days. His noisy family was back. And he wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
